"If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun." - Katharine Hepburn

Tuesday, 27 June 2006

When billionaire worlds collide

Fascinating... I just read that Warren Buffet, the second richest man in the world, is planning to donate the bulk of his $44 billion fortune to the charitable foundation run by THE richest man in the world, Bill Gates. And he's not waiting until he's dead to do it, either. He's divesting himself of 85% of his fortune (all in stock in his own company) to the tune of about $37.4 billion, with $31 billion going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as soon as the transfer of stock can be arranged. This essentially doubles the assets of the foundation, which is already the largest grant-making foundation in the U.S. Buffet will also become a trustee of the foundation.

I have to say I like the style of these two billionaires. They both know they have more money than they could ever spend in 20 lifetimes and there are only so many material comforts a person really needs anyway. So why not channel all that immense wealth back into the world where it can really do some good?

Money is just energy, anyway. And energy needs to flow freely in order to work well. What flows in must flow back out again. It needs to circulate, to keep moving, or it stagnates and does nothing but grow old and stale and tired. Did you ever notice that "miserable" starts with "miser"? There's a good reason for that, because people who are miserly with their money are usually miserable. It's fear that causes us to hold on tightly to something because we're afraid of what might happen if we lose whatever we've got.

So imagine how much good the Gates Foundation can do with over 60 BILLION DOLLARS. The mind boggles. Although I've often found Bill Gates, the Microsoft Guy, more than a bit annoying with that whole "we're taking over the world with our operating system" attitude, I have to admit I'm getting to like this Bill Gates -- Gates, the Philanthropist -- quite a bit.

Ya gotta respect someone who takes whatever he's got and shares it around where it counts -- whether he's a billionaire, or a guy with very little who simply gives what he DOES have. It's in the giving that you receive what really matters most.

Comments

When billionaire worlds collide

Fascinating... I just read that Warren Buffet, the second richest man in the world, is planning to donate the bulk of his $44 billion fortune to the charitable foundation run by THE richest man in the world, Bill Gates. And he's not waiting until he's dead to do it, either. He's divesting himself of 85% of his fortune (all in stock in his own company) to the tune of about $37.4 billion, with $31 billion going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as soon as the transfer of stock can be arranged. This essentially doubles the assets of the foundation, which is already the largest grant-making foundation in the U.S. Buffet will also become a trustee of the foundation.

I have to say I like the style of these two billionaires. They both know they have more money than they could ever spend in 20 lifetimes and there are only so many material comforts a person really needs anyway. So why not channel all that immense wealth back into the world where it can really do some good?

Money is just energy, anyway. And energy needs to flow freely in order to work well. What flows in must flow back out again. It needs to circulate, to keep moving, or it stagnates and does nothing but grow old and stale and tired. Did you ever notice that "miserable" starts with "miser"? There's a good reason for that, because people who are miserly with their money are usually miserable. It's fear that causes us to hold on tightly to something because we're afraid of what might happen if we lose whatever we've got.

So imagine how much good the Gates Foundation can do with over 60 BILLION DOLLARS. The mind boggles. Although I've often found Bill Gates, the Microsoft Guy, more than a bit annoying with that whole "we're taking over the world with our operating system" attitude, I have to admit I'm getting to like this Bill Gates -- Gates, the Philanthropist -- quite a bit.

Ya gotta respect someone who takes whatever he's got and shares it around where it counts -- whether he's a billionaire, or a guy with very little who simply gives what he DOES have. It's in the giving that you receive what really matters most.

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